Inked
by PTBvisiongrrl
Summary: Ranger gets really drunk, runs into Morelli, and they do something drunkenly male. Then Stephanie hears about it…


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Pen Name: PTBvisiongrrl

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Story Title: Inked

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Summary: Ranger gets really drunk, runs into Morelli, and they do something drunkenly male. Then- Stephanie hears about it…

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Story Rating: PG-13 (language)

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Story Status: _Complete_

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Genre: Romance

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Couple: Stephanie and Ranger

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Spoilers: not really

Ranger groaned as consciousness began to return. He could feel cold, uncomfortably hard tile beneath him. He rolled to his left, and hit his already pounding head against a very solid obstacle. Using the obstacle- which turned out to be the toilet of his bathroom, he noticed when he opened his eyes- he tried standing. The room swayed dangerously, and he slumped back down on his knees.

He hadn't had a hung over like this in years. What the hell had he been drinking last night?

Rising slowly, concentrating on a spot on the wall just above the toilet tank, he stood. When he could stand for a few minutes on his own, he tried walking over to the vanity. A stumble over the bath rug sent him full-force into the countertop, where he spied himself in the mirror and then cursed. "Fuck. What the hell happened last night?"

Ranger had a black eye and a cut over his left eyebrow. He also had a bandage on his right upper arm, the entire length of it, which had begun to itch like hell the minute he noted it. Tearing it carefully off, he stared at the wound beneath. It seemed a little off color, and he worried about what kind of infection could already have set in. Looking at it more closely in the mirror- quite difficult, given the wooziness of his brain- it seemed too regularly shaped to be a random wound.

Then it hit him. What the hell had he done? What had he been thinking? Why the hell had Tank let him do this? And right on his arm, where it was difficult to hide without long sleeves?

Shaking his head- carefully- Ranger took out some Tylenol from the medicine cabinet, shook out two, and then swallowed them with a glass of water. He pulled off his clothes and stepped into the shower. Washing off the stink of old alcohol and the bloody crust forming on his new tattoo, he decided that he was going to kill Tank.

Once dried off and his arm hidden beneath a long-sleeve tee, he was ready to call Tank. It took two tries to get Tank to answer his phone. "What the fuck you want this early? You gotta feel worse than me, man."

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you let me get this…this thing?" Ranger actually yelled, raising his voice. Ranger never yelled, and certainly never at Tank.

"Do you really think I'd just LET you get that?" Tank's already irritable voice became considerable crankier. "And how's that eye feel, Ric?"

The state of his face now made more sense. Tank must have tried to stop him from this serious mistake. "You got a matching one?" he asked tensely.

Tank chuckled. "Black eye? Yeah. Two, actually. A tattoo of Bombshell in a Wonder Woman outfit? No."

Ranger's heart stopped. He hadn't looked that close at it, yet. But Tank had to be kidding. "It's not that. Please tell me its just a naked woman or mermaid or something."

Tank really laughed now. He hung up on Tank, practically running into the bathroom and ripping off the tee to get a better look at it in the mirror. Adrenaline had burned off the last vestiges of alcohol, and he could clearly see the tattoo in his reflection.

Steph, clad in the Wonder Woman bustier and red boots and tied up with her own golden Lasso, stared out from his arm. There was no way to hide the identity of the woman in the outfit. At least the pendant around Woman Woman/Steph's neck was unclear, unless you looked very, very close. The Batman symbol was tiny enough that- if Steph should ever see this- she'd miss it.

Thank god for small favors.

Ranger stared at the likeness for the better part of an hour. What would Steph say if she ever saw this? Would she be touched, or creeped out? And what had he been thinking? He had made it through Special Forces without a single tattoo- not the easiest of feats. Even Tank had one, even though it was hard to see against the darkness of his skin. And when Ranger had considered- albeit very briefly, when he was like sixteen- getting a tattoo, he would never get one to remind him of a girl.

Christ, he sighed, rubbing his face. He wished he could remember what else had happened last night. He hoped, if he had been so far gone as to do something so…stupid as get a tattoo while drunk, that he hadn't resorted to anything worse- like showing up outside Steph's window and serenading her with love songs until she came out. Actually, he'd rather live that down then carry a constant reminder of his stupidity, to get an image of a woman he could never have permanently inked on his arm.

Ranger put his shirt back on and called Tank back. Tank in a much better mood. "I told you. I wouldn't fuck with you about something like that, Ric. You had the tattoo artist draw it up a couple times from a picture in your wallet before you let him start." His voice changed a bit, a bit of curiosity creeping in. "I didn't know you carried Bombshell's picture around in your wallet."

Ranger made a strangled sound in his voice. "Just what the hell happened last night? And what was I drinking, because I can't remember shit after the strip bar."

"Which one?" Tank laughed. "Okay, after we got thrown out of Dangerous Curves…"

Tank and Ranger had started their night out at a strip club they were familiar and comfortable with, so they felt safe enough to drink. A lot, apparently, when one stripper came up that had long, curly brown hair left wild and bright, wide blue eyes, a black thong, and killer, four-inch heels that looked a lot like a pair that Steph owned. Ranger drank even more, after a lap dance or two from said stripper. Drank enough that he got a little too familiar with her, and they were escorted out. "Escorted," of course, rather than thrown out. Tank still had enough sense about him to talk Ranger into leaving on his own, when the bouncer started threatening cop involvement.

The two had made their way, drinking and getting lap dances, through two or three other strip clubs- even Tank wasn't sure how many- when they ran into Joe Morelli. Morelli sat dead center before the pole, sipping a beer and stuffing dollar bills into the g-string of a petit, blonde stripper with double Ds. Ranger was drunk enough to go up to Joe and say something.

Sitting down next to Joe, Ranger slurred, "You working, or Steph leave you again?"

Morelli's spine had immediately stiffened. "I guess she didn't go running to you, either."

The conversation bounced back and forth from insults to commiseration over how difficult loving Steph could be- another indication of just how drunk Ranger had been last night. And, somewhere- Tank thought it started out of a discussion regarding a trail of cat paw tattoos trailing up a stripper's thigh and lost into the promised land- the conversation turned to tattoos and military service. And Morelli had called Ranger a pussy for not having one.

Which, thankfully, had not degenerated into a barroom brawl, but a trip to the nearest tattoo parlor, where a bet was concocted. Drunken male minds didn't work well, and both Ranger and Morelli were fixated on Steph. So, they dared each other to get tattoos for her, and see whose she liked better. At the time, Ranger was sure it had made some kind of sense.

Now he thought that Morelli had just wanted to cause trouble. He was never, EVER, showing this to Stephanie.

At least he had been more clear-headed than Morelli, who had started on his tattoo first, without seeing what Ranger had planned. Joe ended up with a really tacky sword-through-heart bearing Stephanie's name. How- unimaginative, Ranger had thought, even through a drunken haze. And then he had blown Joe's lame tattoo out of the water. Along with a thousand bucks to have this etched into his skin.

"And what were you doing to discourage me, while this was going on, Tank?" Ranger demanded, stopping the recital of the litany of bad ideas he had participated in last night.

"After the initial scuffle, out cold, man." Tank didn't sound the least apologetic. "You out drank, and out fought me, and outlasted me."

"Thanks for the effort before you passed out." Sarcasm dripped from Ranger's voice. "Did you get one?"

"Nope." Tank's answer was clipped- too clipped. Ranger knew he was lying.

"What'd you get, man? I can hear it in your voice!" Ranger waited, but Tank didn't volunteer any information. "It can't be worse then mine."

A beat, then, very softly, "Yeah, it can. And you will be paying to have it removed, too. It was your stupid idea, and I was almost out by then. I didn't know what I was agreeing to."

Ranger felt a bit better about his. He was thinking having it removed might not be a bad idea, but he hadn't already decided on it. Tank's wasn't even crusted over yet, and he was plotting to get rid of it. "C'mon. If I'm paying to get rid of it, I should at least know what it was."

Tank sighed. "You made me get the Robin symbol."

"Uh?" Ranger was puzzled.

"The circle with the R in it, for Robin?" Tank was not sounding happy. When Ranger didn't say anything, Tank continued. "Batman's side kick?"

Ranger burst out laughing. "You must have been really far gone for that one."

Tank hung up on him.

Ranger spent his morning trying to clear some paperwork up on his desk. It took him the better part of the day, due to his mental distraction over the tattoo. He was trying to figure out how he was going to remember to keep his arm covered any time he was around Steph. Was it inevitable that he would forget at some point, and she would see it?

And what would she think of it?

Was Morelli going to go through with this silly bet, and show her his tattoo? Or would he be as embarrassed about the whole thing as Ranger now was? Of course, Joe had a lot smaller of a reminder than Ranger himself did. And would Steph react as badly to the lame tattoo on Joe as she would to Ranger's masterpiece?

His cell rang, and he cringed when he saw the number. He still answered it, none of his emotional turmoil apparent in his voice. "Yo, babe."

"Yo, yourself."

Ranger waited, but she didn't speak. He got a bad feeling. "Did you need something, babe?"

"No," she said, her voice sounding very normal. "I just wanted to talk."

"Oh," Ranger noted. "Cause your not talking."

Steph let another moment pass. "I need to see you."

"What's going on?" She never called and just wanted to see him.

"Be here in ten." She echoed his usual response at him, and hung up. Funny, the hanging up on him didn't bother him nearly as much as the worry over what she wanted. So he found himself following what amounted to an order. He got into his Porsche and drove over to her apartment, pausing in the lot to gather up courage.

It was with trepidation that he knocked on her front door. He would normally have broken in, but he just didn't think about it. His mind was too busy. She answered before he could knock a second time. "Come in."

Ranger submissively- his courage quickly deserting him- came in and headed for her sofa. He was taken aback by Morelli's presence in the armchair; he started shaking inside when he saw Morelli's face.

Steph had not been pleased by the tattoo, if Ranger read Joe correctly. And she had seen the tattoo, because Joe's tee was rolled up and cuffed high enough to expose it. Ranger decided to play dumb, and let Morelli take the full hit for this one. "Babe?" he asked in a questioning voice as he sat carefully down on the cushions.

"Let me see it," she demanded.

Ranger shot Joe a murderous look, one that was timed so that Steph didn't see it. "See what?"

"Let me see your Stephanie tattoo." She stood in front of him, hands on hips.

He stared at her, his face as blank as he could make it. "Still don't know what you're talking about. Can you clarify?"

Morelli snorted. "The gig's up, Ranger. Just show it to her and we can get this over with."

Steph whirled on him. "You made a bet about me, Morelli. I don't like being bet on. So shut up."

Steph crossed her arms in front of her chest, standing completely still and continuing to fix a hot glare on Ranger. "Right or left?"

Ranger still refused to play, so she reached out and punched him on the arm with the tattoo. When he winced, she nodded.

Ranger still kept quiet. So she kneeled in front of him and started pulling up his T-shirt sleeve. Ranger tried to still her hands, but she kept wrestling them free. Unless he wanted to stop her by hurting her, she was going to win. Sighing- he seemed to be doing a lot of that the past few days- he pushed her hands off him and started pulling out the shirt at his waistband. At Stephanie's look of confusion, he explained. "You can't see the whole thing unless I take my shirt off."

Steph looked over at Joe's little heart and name tattoo, easily visible just by folding up the sleeve, then back to Ranger expectantly. Apparently Joe had been almost as far-gone as Ranger and Tank, because, based on Joe's reaction, he didn't seem to remember what Ranger's tattoo was. Ranger refused to look at Stephanie once he lifted his shirt, but he heard her intake of breath as the artwork became exposed. Then he felt her hands turning his arm this way and that as she tried to examine the detail of it. It seemed to go on forever before she stood up again and dismissed them both.

"You two really are immature." Then she left the two of them in her own apartment.

Ranger and Joe sat with their jaws hanging open for a few minutes before either of them spoke. Joe spoke first. "I didn't tell her!" he exclaimed vehemently.

Ranger snorted in disbelief. "Then who did?"

Joe shrugged. "It's the Burg. Who knows who saw us last night?"

Not sure if he should belief the cop or not, Ranger leaned back. "Do you think she'll get over it?"

Morelli sighed, rolling his sleeve back down and shrugging on his jacket. "If I were you, I'd watch out for a Buick driving on the sidewalk." Then he left.

Ranger waited. He couldn't leave things quite like this. He couldn't have Steph this pissed at him. He was already pissed enough at himself. So he snagged a beer from her fridge and sat down to see what was on TV. When she hadn't returned in an hour, he decided that a quick nap might be good preparation for the battle he was sure would erupt when she finally did return. He lay down on her bed- she was already pissed at him, anyway, so finding him in her bed probably wouldn't make things any worse- and fell asleep.

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but he came immediately and fully awake when he sensed someone standing by the side of the bed and looming over him. He jumped up and turned the light on. "How's it feel to have someone sit and stare at you while you sleep, Ranger?"

Ranger swallowed back his pounding heart, and sat up. "I was wondering if you were coming back tonight."

Steph rolled her eyes at him. "It's only my apartment. Why are you still here?"

"I wanted to talk to you- to apologize- I was really drunk last night-" Steph held her finger up to Ranger's lips in a shushing gesture. "I love you," he whispered.

"Stop talking, Ricardo." Ranger blinked. Steph never called him by his name. "I have something to show you." She unsnapped her jeans and started shimmying them over her hips.

His mouth went dry. "Babe?" he questioned in astonishment.

Jeans pooled at her feet, Steph ignored his question as she stepped out of them. Hooking her fingers into one side of her briefs, she began to slide them down as Ranger gazed on, stupefied. She was stripping for him? Then he saw a very dark mark surrounded by blazing pink skin on her hip. She stopped the panties right beneath the mark, and bared it so that he could see it better. She didn't say a word, just let him stare, until he dropped onto his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her middle tightly.

The Batman symbol blazed out at him from the flat of her hip, amid angry red skin that broadcast how recent an addition this tattoo was. "How did you…" His voice trailed off.

She caught his chin in her hand, and pulled him up to look at her in the eyes. "I knew what yours was before I called you over here. My cousin was the tattoo artist." She smiled. "I was mad at first, but then Jeff told me I should be flattered by all the pain, money, and effort." And she kissed him on the lips, chastely. "And that you told him to make me look like I am, not give me bigger boobs or anything."

Ranger still wasn't sure how to respond, so he stayed quiet. She was actually happy about his tattoo?

"And Jeff told me about the necklace Wonder Stephanie is wearing." She pushed him towards the bed, straddling him as he fell back, her tattoo still exposed for him to marvel at. "I couldn't find a Bat symbol necklace at the mall." Then she kissed him, long and hard.


End file.
